Fluoridate Wooster water? Group says yes

Published: May 27, 2000 12:00 AM

For the fourth time in the city's history, citizens may get the chance to decide whether or not fluoride should be added to Wooster's water supply.

A group of dentists, physicians, members of the Ohio Department of Health and several citizens have formed the group "Safe Water -- Healthy Smiles" to promote the benefits of fluoride. The group has established a Web site to promote fluoridation of Wooster's water and is looking at how they can make that happen.

Dr. Kathryn Helmuth, a medical doctor who also works for the Wayne County Health Department, and Dr. Alan Kiefer, a Wooster dentist, are heading up the group that got its start thanks to one concerned housewife.

"She called up and said she wondered why Wooster wasn't fluoridating," Helmuth said. "She wanted to know how she could make it happen. That is really what got the ball rolling.

"A lot of people here in Wooster would like that benefit for the community. We're really in a stage of exploring ideas about how to make it happen."

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Kiefer said it's time Wooster is brought into the 21st century, as far as dental care goes. According to the group's Web site, 90 percent of the Ohio population currently being served by public water systems has water that is fortified with fluoride, including Orrville and Rittman in Wayne County, and Ashland and Medina in surrounding counties.

The mineral is important, Kiefer said, because it replaces parts of the enamel on the tooth that are subject to decay.

"It builds a much stronger tooth," he said. "It's like creating a house of bricks instead of straw."

And Wooster youngsters, for the most part, are building houses of straw, Kiefer said.

"The children in Wooster aren't getting the fluoride they need," he said. "That's why adjusting the fluoride level in the water is such an easy way to standardize fluoride.

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"It is the single most important thing you can do to prevent tooth decay."

As a local dentist, Kiefer said he is obligated to tell his patients that Wooster's water does not have the fluoride content of surrounding areas, and suggests children be given a fluoride supplement.

"I'm always amazed at the number of people who are not aware," he said. "People who move here just assume that the water is fluoridated.

Michael Hunter, Wooster's utilities division manager, said fluoride does occur in the city's water supply naturally, but only in a very small amount.

"Fluoride is already in our water," Hunter said. "We would take the fluoride (currently in the water) and augment it to one part per million. Right now we're around .25 to .3 parts per million."

Hunter, who came to Wooster last year, said he was surprised when he learned the city does not fortify its water with fluoride.

"Usually, a city of 25,000 must (add fluoride), but Wooster was given that choice back then and decided not to," he said. "It's a raging issue to say the least. There are those who say it is the best thing since sliced bread, and others believe it causes cancer."

The issue of increasing the amount of fluoride in Wooster's water is not new. It originally came before City Council in May 1951. At that time, a group of Wooster doctors made a presentation on the benefits of fluoride to council.

In October 1955, City Council approved legislation to place the issue on the ballot by a vote of 6-1. Mayor Edwin Johnson vetoed the legislation, but that was overruled by a unanimous council vote. In November 1956, the citizens of Wooster voted down the issue by more than 2,500 votes, 4,858 against fluoridation versus 2,286 for the act.

In 1970, Ohio's legislature mandated that all cities fluoridate unless voted down by the population. Once again, Wooster voters turned it down, with 2,957 people voting against it and 1,814 for fluoridation.

Thirteen years later, after City Council placed the issue on the ballot, the citizens of Wooster, for the third time, denied the city permission to add fluoride to water.